Pupils from across Burnley, Pendle and the Ribble Valley show off sporting prowess at Lancashire School Games

Thousands of school children have taken part in the county’s largest youth sporting event.

Enjoying glorious sunny weather, more than 2,000 youngsters took part in the Lancashire School Games county finals, held at Blackpool’s Stanley Park.

Pupils from the Ribble Valley take part in the opening ceremony

The 15 county finals ranged from introductory sports such as Tri Golf, High 5 Netball and Quad Kids (athletics) to more traditional sports such as rounders, touch rugby and climbing.

Inclusive sports were also included in the programme; Under 13 PAN Ability Football and Key Stage 3 orienteering, and two new exciting additions for 2019, climbing and angling.

Some 148 Lancashire schools, including ones from Bunrley, Pendle and the Ribble Valley attended the event, having qualified earlier in the year to represent their district through achieving gold medals in regional qualifying rounds.

Opening the games with an official Olympic style opening ceremony, each district paraded through the stadium to a favourite song of choice, carrying banners that schools had individually designed to reflect the six values of the School Games; determination; honesty; passion; respect; self-belief and teamwork.

Pupils from Pendle take part in the opening ceremony

The SPAR Lancashire School Games are sponsored by SPAR’s wholesaler for the North of England and Lancashire family business, James Hall & Co.

Peter Dodding, sales and marketing director at James Hall & Co. said: “We are absolutely delighted to be in our 13th year of sponsorship for the SPAR Lancashire School Games and we look forward every year to attending the county finals.

“We are proud to be working alongside Active Lancashire and the team of hard working Lancashire School Games Organisers to help promote healthy lifestyles across the county and it is amazing to see so many children having such a fantastic time participating in sport.”

As well as sporting events, spectators were entertained by Rock FM; Britain’s Got Talent stars Flakefleet Samba Band; Lancashire Music Service and the winners of the Dance Primary and Secondary Competition, St Mary’s Primary School Haslingden and Millfield Science and Performance Arts College.

Pupils from Burnley take part in the opening ceremony

Adrian Leather, chief executive of Active Lancashire said: "2019 has been a great year for the SPAR Lancashire School Games. In partnership with the School Games Organisers and SPAR (James Hall & Co), this year’s event introduced two new sports - angling and climbing - with the aim of appealing to children who may not have previously been interested in partaking in the games, and to motivate more young people to get active and have fun with sport."

He added: “We would like to thank SPAR for their continued support and we look forward to seeing where the School Games can go from here."

More than 300 volunteers helped to make this event possible, from local school pupils, to young leaders, match officials, and local sports clubs.